Aqua
by CASE iN POiNT
Summary: [songfic] Liz Ricarro danced in a nightclub for a living. Then she got her big break in the IGPX and promptly left that behind. Or did she?


**Disclaimer: I do not own this IGPX dealio. And I do not own "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira. Shake on. **

**

* * *

Aqua**_  
_o:o:o:o:o:o_  
_

_Ladies up here tonight__  
No fighting__  
We got the refugees up in here__  
No fighting, no fighting__  
Shakira, Shakira_

Liz was used to this crowd. This was how she made her living. Everyday. Until somebody discovered her for the talent she had, not the men she made drool.

_I never really knew that she could dance like this__  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish_

The lights came on, bright and unforgiving, like always, tempting her, daring her to make a mistake. She never did though, not even her first day, which really wasn't her first day because it was the tester day. She didn't screw up then, and she hadn't screwed up in almost two years. So she wasn't going to screw up now.

Her ruffled, knee-length aqua skirt clung to her body in all the right places. She loved this material. It was smooth and cool even when she really got into the dancing. Her matching plain T-shirt on top wasn't as risqué as you would think, but it was tight.

And when she shook her hips onstage, it made her look tantalizing.

_¿Como se llama? (sí)  
Bonita (sí)  
Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira)  
Su casa_

"Uh, Ms. Satomi? How are we supposed to find her in this, erm, crowd?" Takeshi yelled over the uncivilized noise of the club around him. He had to put on the brakes suddenly to prevent colliding into a man and a woman that just crashed through the crowd in front of him. Then he jerked in surprise when he felt someone bump into his back.

Whipping around, he only turned to find a wide-eyed Amy. "Sorry, Takeshi," she said apologetically, turning her big eyes to him. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"And neither is anybody else," Takeshi said with a bit of scorn in his voice. "Come on." He grabbed a hold of Amy's arm in order not to lose her in the fray and charged after Ms. Satomi, whose crisp and tailored cream-colored business suit looked a bit out of place in these quarters.

_Oh, baby, when you talk like that  
You make a woman go mad  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body_

Liz had developed certain opinions about her job in the past year or so. She hated it when she was asked about it (how was she supposed to answer, "So what do you do for a living?" without looking like a common slut?) and she thought the place was truly disgusting. Only bimbos would come to this kind of dirty club regularly.

But when she got to dancing onstage, under all the lights, with everyone (well, almost everyone) looking at her beautiful body, tanned skin, and lovely face, it almost made her feel like she was famous. Almost. And the guys that danced with her onstage were _great_ dancers. And some of them were even a little good-looking. Imagine that.

The only thing was, none of them sang. Although they always pretended like they did, lip-synching to the song and wearing fake microphone headsets.

_And I'm on tonight  
You know my hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel it's right_

"Takeshi," Amy said quietly, tugging on the gray-haired boy's shirtsleeve with her hand that wasn't being used as a lifeline type connection with him. She had only met him a day ago, which was hard to believe as now they were forging through the crowd together like they were old friends.

With their manager, which she had also just met a day ago. Which made the whole situation a bit more surreal.

"Takeshi," she repeated, tugging harder and trying to make her voice a little louder. Takeshi didn't hear her again and just shrugged off the tugging, as if he thought someone he was passing by in the club was doing it.

"Takeshi!" she finally said, yelling his name and tugging so hard the neck of his shirt almost slid around his shoulder. Takeshi whipped around, startled.

"What?" he asked, disturbed at Amy and at the crowd and at the whole freaking situation.

Amy looked down at her feet for a minute, scared and sorry that she had done such a poor job getting his attention. She'd need to work on that as she started to know him more. But at the moment, it seemed best just to tell him what she wanted to say because he seemed angry enough already. "I think I've found Liz Ricarro."

"You did?" Takeshi asked, his voice softening and his eyes widening in relief and excitement. "Where?"

And then Amy pointed. To onstage.

_All the attraction, the tension  
Don't you see, baby  
This is perfection_

Liz was starting to sweat and starting to get into the beat at the same time. Back up dancers had filed onstage at some point, all behind her in an array of colors, mimicking the dance movements she was doing. Because, that's right, Liz Ricarro was the star of the show. She was always the star of the show and no one would change that.

Suddenly, the fear of messing up seized over her whole body like a straitjacket as she looked into the crowd (she had planned to put her seductive face on) and saw an odd looking group of people. It consisted of three people, increasing in height. First a shy looking girl that seemed about to have a heart attack, clutching her hands together in front of her chest in a scared manner. Then was a gray-haired boy, waving his arms like a mad man (which wasn't too much different from the other men around, Liz admitted) and jumping up and down. She didn't know if he was trying to get her attention or not until her eyes traveled to the last person…

Right in time for her to turn around and shake her hips. Sighing to herself, she did so, sticking to the dance routine she knew too well. When she eagerly turned around, she nearly lost her footing in shock.

She had come. That manager lady had actually come for her. Here Liz was, furious for a week that the lady hadn't showed up, dancing away her anger and her pain, causing a multitude of worry from the dancers around her that had become her friends and knew her so well. The only thing Liz cared about that dangerous week was whether that lady had just been fooling her. That the manager lady really was interested in her talent.

And Liz had gradually convinced herself that the lady wasn't going to come.

And now she was here.

Watching Liz dance.

Embarrassing…

_Hey girl, I can see your body moving  
And it's driving me crazy  
And I didn't have the slightest idea  
Until I saw you dancing_

Takeshi watched as the brown haired girl now was swaying around one of the men onstage, trying to act seductive while giving glances in their direction every few seconds or so. Takeshi tried very hard not to admit to himself that this girl, this Liz Ricarro, was gorgeous.

Meanwhile, Amy Stapleton tried very hard not to bob her head to this infectious beat pulsing around her.

And she failed.

_And when you walk up on the dance floor  
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl  
And everything's so unexpected  
The way you right and left it  
So you can keep on shaking it_

After the dance performance the first thing Liz did was run up to Ms. Satomi and gush out the sincerest apology she had ever made in her life. Liz didn't even know she had it in her, but she apparently did. Then, realizing that she was still all sweaty and that her boss would eventually hunt her down and kill her for what she was going to do, she up and left the club forever, trailing in the wake of the manager, and the two other odd ones that would be her teammates in the sport she loved the most. Loved more than dancing.

She also ended up catching a cold from being outside at night in just a T-shirt that showed her belly button and a knee-length practically silk skirt.

o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

_I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish  
¿Como se llama? (sí)  
Bonita (sí)  
Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira)  
Su casa_

"Eh, man, I swear that Mark and Andrei are plotting against us," Liz complained in the locker room after taking a nice steaming shower. Amy was sitting nearby, waiting as Liz got dressed. Liz liked taking longer showers than Amy and it made Amy laugh to think about it, for some odd reason.

Liz made her laugh a lot, she decided. Just Liz's whole personality was priceless.

"How are they doing that?" Amy asked, politely interested.

"Well, they are making the simulation races harder and harder, for one thing. And I don't like it."

Amy giggled. They had all known Liz for a couple months now, and she was the closest thing to a best friend that Amy had ever had. Except for Takeshi, of course. "Aren't they supposed to make it harder for us? You know, to make us build up our skill little by little so we'll be ready for the real races?"

Liz scowled. "Why do you always have to be so logical, Amy?" Amy laughed as Liz shook her head and slipped into her aqua colored clothing: a loose, midriff showing tank top and some comfy-looking sweat pants, rolled up to the knees. "Gosh, it just makes my theories crash and burn every time."

Amy smiled, while really drifting off to think of other things. Like the first time she ever saw Liz. The color aqua always reminded her of that.

_Oh, baby, when you talk like that  
You make a woman go mad  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body_

"Is your favorite color aqua, Liz?" Amy asked quietly, looking up at her best friend.

"Huh?" Liz said, puzzled. "That's kind of a random question, isn't it?"

Amy shrugged. "I'm just wondering."

_And I'm on tonight  
You know my hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel you, boy  
Come on, let's go, real slow  
Don't you see asi es perfecto_

"I guess," Liz said, her turn to shrug. She turned to stuff her towel into her duffel bag that she always had with her when she was working out.

"It always reminds me of you dancing, Liz," Amy suddenly said bravely. Amy had really gone out on a limb to say it. But it just came out. Previously, she hadn't said anything that might have been offending in some way. Her fear of losing her two only friends was too great (although they didn't seem to share the same fears, as Liz and Takeshi were constantly arguing and calling each other names, behind the back and in the face). But this time, Amy had decided to risk it.

Liz froze. No one had talked about that for a long time. And now, as she paused and thought back, it seemed like such a distant memory.

_If I know I'm on tonight  
My hips don't lie and I'm starting to feel it's right  
All the attraction, the tension  
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection  
(Shakira, Shakira)_

It almost felt like she had been dancing in a past life and certainly not this one. She didn't even know where those clothes went to, even though she knew she had kept them.

"I guess it kind of does, doesn't it?" Liz said, looking at Amy with a slight smile. "It's good to know…I think."

Relieved, Amy gave Liz the biggest smile she had ever seen the shy girl give to anyone. That made Liz smile in return at the lovely simplicity, honesty, and sweetness this girl exuded.

o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

_Oh boy, I can see your body moving  
Half animal, half man  
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing  
But you seem to have a plan_

Liz was in her large room in her empty house, searching through the old suitcases, the remote corners of her closet, the dresser drawers that she hardly ever opened, and even the laundry basket that was more than overflowing.

All the while she was wondering why she wanted, or even needed, to do this. Revisiting the past like she was trying to do seemed such a waste of time.

But finally, she found it. It was in one of the cabinets of the laundry room, way up above the washer and dryer (she had to climb onto them to get to it). She had found a big brown cardboard box up there and was curious as to what was inside. So she took it down and sat on top of her washer, digging through it.

To find a black garment bag folded up neatly on top.

She unzipped it a tiny bit. Once she saw the telltale flash of still bright aqua, she almost had to muffle a scream of joy.

Not even putting the box back where she found it, she launched herself off the washer and ran back to her room.

_My will and self-restraint  
Have come to fail now, fail now  
See, I am doing what I can  
But I can't, so you know  
That's a bit too hard to explain_

The next thing she had to do was to dig out that ancient Shakira CD. They didn't even use CDs anymore, but when she had worked at the club they had given her one for her to practice her dancing on. Even then she had gaped at it, like, _dude, I haven't seen these around in a while._

The song was pretty old in itself. But as soon as Liz inserted it into her stereo (a thing she still had from the past as well), she knew it still would have something magical for her.

_Baila en la calle de noche  
Baila en la calle de día  
Baila en la calle de noche  
Baila en la calle de día_

As she slipped on the cool aqua clothing, a thrill of excitement ran through her. It was amazing how the skirt and shirt was a little limp for her body now. She had been working out so much and so hard for IGPX that she had actually lost more body fat than she had at age 14. Which she knew some people would die for.

But after all, the IGPX was a sport. And dancing had just been dancing.

Right.

_I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish  
¿Como se llama? (sí)  
Bonita (sí)  
Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira)  
Su casa_

She turned around and around in front of her closet door mirrors, scrutinizing herself. Then, to her half-horror and half-pleasure, she tried to dance along to the music where she would be in the routine…

And almost tripped over her bed because space was so cramped. Disappointed, she sat on the edge of her bed, just listening to the music, until she got an idea.

o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

_Oh, baby, when you talk like that  
You know you got me hypnotized  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body_

Liz stuck her head around in the mini-gym they had in their team headquarters building. It was silent and nothing (most importantly, nobody) was moving.

Good.

She tiptoed into the weight room and then left the exercise machines for the gym room, with the nice blue mats and the whole wall that was mirrors. She put down her stereo near a plug in the wall, plugged it in, and then turned it on. Once she got to track 3, she stopped and stepped back, looking at herself in the mirror.

_Breathe in,_ she thought slowly and calmly, _breathe out. You aren't going to have a heart attack._

Her mind flashed back to her first sight of Amy, standing in the club, terrified, and Liz smiled.

_Senorita  
Feel the conga  
Let me see you move like you come from Colombia_

Now that she was on the mat with plenty of room and a big mirror in front of her so she could see her movements, she felt more relaxed and confident as the song started. The drumbeat filled her head, the trumpets trilled through her brain, and she stood still in her starting position, a little off center.

When the fast lyrics started to belt out of the stereo, she started moving and swaying.

Her skirt swished about her thighs.

_Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it!  
Mira en Barranquilla se baila así_

When Takeshi heard the loud thumping music in the locker room, he couldn't help but come out and investigate. Hurriedly putting on his shirt, he walked outside into the cool gym air and closed in on where the music was coming from. What he ended up seeing shocked him into silence.

But it was a good kind of shock.

_Yeah  
She's so sexy  
Every man's fantasy  
A refugee like me back from the Fugees from a 3rd world country_

Slide back, slide back, jump up, jump twice. Sway and dip this way, sway and dip the other way. Liz's breathing was already coming hard but she was smiling, knowing that she still had this stuff down. This song, this beat was fast, and it totally blew her mind when she was first learning this. But now it was like walking. Easy.

Until she turned to her right to shake it, and saw Takeshi staring at her with a mouth open big enough to catch flies.

_I go back like when 'pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty  
I need a whole club dizzy  
Why the CIA wanna watch us?  
Colombians and Haitians  
I ain't guilty, it's just a music transaction_

"What the hell are you staring at?" Liz said angrily, stomping her foot in anger. All Takeshi could do was look at how the dim light still seemed to shimmer on the fabric of Liz's skirt. He remembered this outfit, this dance, this music, this whole thing. And slowly he started to smile.

This was worth getting killed by Liz later.

"What do you think I'm staring at?"

_No more do we snatch ropes  
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats_

Liz started to walk toward the stereo. "Takeshi, you really need to learn manners! You don't just walk in on people like that, all right?" Liz was having trouble controlling her anger and her embarrassment. "You could get beaten up for that, or worse, you could get—"

"Don't turn off the music, Liz," Takeshi said quietly, making Liz stop in her tracks and whirl around. Takeshi gave her a small, gentle smile. "Just keep on dancing. Pretend I'm not here."

Liz frowned. "But you _are_ here and you're _watching_ me."

"So? When you were dancing in that nightclub, people were watching you. Strangers were watching you." Takeshi gave Liz a friendly, yet hard look, the one he gave when he was going to teach somebody an important lesson or say a quote-worthy statement. "If you could dance in front of those people, why can't you dance in front of me?"

"Well, uh, I…well…"

_I'm on tonight  
My hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel you, boy  
Come on, let's go, real slow  
Baby, like this is perfecto_

"Come on, Liz," Takeshi said, giving her a bigger smile than before.

Liz sighed, feeling a bit of heat rush to her cheeks. "Fine. But you better not laugh or tell anyone about this or the next thing you know, you'll have your face punched in." Even though she said it, she couldn't help but smile.

There was something about Takeshi that always got to her in the end.

_Oh, you know I'm on tonight  
And my hips don't lie and I'm starting to feel it's right  
The attraction, the tension  
Baby, like this is perfection_

"I won't, I promise," Takeshi said, leaning against the doorframe and watching as Liz picked up the dance again, easily finding her place in the music.

As he watched her dance again, he finally couldn't help but admit it.

She was gorgeous.

_No fighting  
No fighting_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Now for the best part of the whole thing...the AUTHORESS'S NOTE!**

**This was the random oneshot, songfic thing floating around in my head. I don't think it's all that good and I certainly know that this isn't my best songfic. Some of my writing in the beginning of this piece is a bit choppy, so I apologize (but that might just be me reading my own writing -.-).**

**Other than that, I'm thinking of doing more songfic, oneshots to IGPX. I dunno. I just thought it'd be cool to do a what-Liz-could-possibly-have-been-doing-before-IGPX fic. I also apologize if she seems out of character in the beginning.**

**Well, then, with all that said, I guess it's time to say...until next time!  
**


End file.
